Olšany Cemetery in winter |
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Olšany Cemetery
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| Details | |
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| Year established | 1680 |
| Country | Czech Republic |
| Location | Prague |
| Type | Public |
| Number of graves | 65,000 |
Olšany Cemetery (Olšanské hřbitovy in Czech) is the largest graveyard in Prague, Czech Republic, once having as many as two million burials. The cemetery is particularly noted for its many remarkable art nouveau monuments.[1]
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The Olšany Cemetery was created in 1680 to accommodate plague victims who died en masse in Prague and needed to be buried quickly. In 1787, when the plague again struck the city, Emperor Joseph II banned the burial of bodies within Prague city limits and Olšany Cemetery was declared the central graveyard for hygiene purposes.[2]
Olšany necropolis consists of twelve cemeteries. There are two ceremonial halls assigned to bid farewell to the deceased; the newer one is located in a building of the former of Prague's first crematoriums. New to the scene is the "Olšany Cemetery Learning Trail" which is so far mapping the history of three of the oldest sections and also sketches the life stories of some celebrities buried here. Prague's Olšany cemetery excels in its picturesque style and its tranquil nooks, surpassing even Malostranský cemetery and Slavín, and is the biggest necropolis in the Czech Republic.[3]
To this day there is evidence of 230,000 people buried, 65,000 graves sites, 200 chapel graves and six columbariums in Olšany Cemetery.[4]
Part of the movie Bad Company was filmed in Olšany Cemetery.
Many well-known people are buried at Olšany Cemetery, including: